[1st-mile-nm] Gov. Vetoes SB 24

[Richard Lowenberg]

http://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/governor-vetoes-broadband-legislation-bill/4426497/

Governor vetoes broadband legislation bill
KOB.com Web Staff
March 15, 2017 12:16 PM

Governor Susana Martinez has vetoed a Senate bill (SB24) designed to 
encourage local government investment in broadband infrastructure.

Gov. Martinez vetoed the bill Wednesday.

"Governor Martinez's veto will prevent local governments from being able 
to provide broadband for their communities," said Senator Michael 
Padilla, one of the bill's sponsors. "After hearing the news that New 
Mexico has the highest unemployment in the nation, it's hard to imagine 
why Governor Martinez would stand in the way of our cities and counties 
efforts to bring high-speed internet that would attract needed jobs and 
support local small businesses."

The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 37-1 and passed unanimously out 
of the House of Representatives.

On March 9, Gov. Martinez signed two other broadband bills into law. One 
creates a "dig once" policy that ensures broadband conduit can be 
inserted underground any time trenches are dug to access utility lines.

The second law seeks to spur investment in broadband infrastructure by 
combining demand for internet access among public schools and other 
educational institutions, while recovering a large portion of costs from 
a federal program established in 1996 to help connect public libraries 
and schools to the internet.



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Richard Lowenberg, Executive Director
1st-Mile Institute     505-603-5200
Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504,
rl at 1st-mile.org     www.1st-mile.org
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